L1 to H1. H1 Expired and Never Used

[kndeepak]

I came to US in Dec 2007 on L1b Visa with EmployerA and have been working on the same Visa (extended) and company till today in US. However I got a H1B Visa with different employer, EmployerB in Oct 2008 which had an expiration of Sep-2011. But I didn’t switch because of the market slowdown. After few months around Feb 2008 EmployerB terminated my H1B.

Now I want to move on H1B visa from L1B and my question is can I still use the same existing H1B visa or should I go for a new one? Since the existing H1 has already expired in Sep-2011 and I never got it stamped on my passport am still wondering if that can be reactivated by another employer because the term is for 6 years. Another important point is that EmployerB along with H1B they also submitted for my status change but I never switched and remained on L1B. so I don’t know the impact of this for me getting the existing H1B Visa activated.

Question: Can another employer activate the H1B visa I was having and transfer instead of going for a Cap since i still have 2 years on my hand to complete the 6 year term?

[pontevecchio]

Based on being cap counted you will be eligible for 6 years minus existing time in L1 status as your H1 time.